Hines: Campbell exuding quiet confidence about Iowa State football in 2024

LAS VEGAS – No one would mistake Matt Campbell for Deion Sanders.

And not just because the Iowa State coach wore a pretty standard gray suit for his Big 12 Media Days appearance last week while Coach Prime of Colorado opted for sunglasses, a hoodie under a sportscoat and a gold chain embellished with a gold whistle.

While the pair’s flair for fashion diverges pretty drastically, the gulf between their approaches to expectation-setting is probably even more pronounced.

“I know I'm a winner,” Sanders said. “So whatever I display, however I go about my job, my work, my business, my personal life, that's of a winner. That's all I know. I don't know anything else but that.

“So in due time, in due process, we're going to reach that goal because if we're going to get there − because I know I'm going to get there. And I'm not going by myself.”

I think Campbell would rather retire than even read that transcript aloud.

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But that’s not to say Campbell is lacking confidence. Or belief that his 2024 team has a chance to not just be a winner, but something special.

“I feel as talented from top to bottom as we’ve been,” Campbell said of this fall’s squad. “To watch this group come back in the offseason and really want to get better and not feel like we’ve arrived or we’ve accomplished anything to where we want to go − it’s been really rewarding.

“All those things make me really excited about the opportunity to go compete with this football team this year.”

For Campbell, that’s basically wearing sunglasses inside.

You may have to be fluent in Campbell Speak to get a sense of how bullish the ninth-year Cyclone coach is about his team, but if you understand the nuance of the language – which is derived from the mother tongue of Coach Speak – the belief is clear.

Campbell thinks he’s got something.

Which of course he does. A look at the Cyclones’ roster should inspire plenty of confidence.

They’ve got the reigning offensive freshman of the year in quarterback Rocco Becht, a dynamic wide receiver tandem in Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, a potential star tight end with Ben Brahmer, a running back room bursting with potential and a restocked offensive line.

“It allows you to spread the football around and allows you to not be one-dimensional and gives you the ability to attack all of the football field,” Campbell said. “That’s something, when we’ve had the ability to do that, we’ve been our best on offense.”

NFL Draft pick T.J. Tampa has exited his cornerback position, but the Cyclones’ defense is similarly stacked with returning players that give it the depth, experience and talent coordinator Jon Heacock is so adept at deploying.

“I've always tried to have 22 starters on the defensive side,” Campbell said, “and I think we’re a lot closer to that than we’ve been in a long time on defense.

“That makes you feel very confident and excited to get to fall camp to see if we are really there.”

Easy there, coach. Keep up with the unvarnished optimism and somebody may just gift you a golden whistle.

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The reality, though, is that the Cyclones have some dudes. And they have the stability and continuity that was missing last year as the state’s gambling probe rocked college football in the state and upended Iowa State with the loss of its starting quarterback, running back, tight end, offensive tackle and noseguard.

However you want to assess blame for the distraction and departures, it’s clear the situation put Iowa State in a difficult position to prepare to play football in 2023.

“Last year, we were going into fall camp, number 1, who can play for us?” Campbell said. “And we took the early part of the season to figure out, what can we do?”

That ain’t the case this year. Iowa State knows its guys, understands the team's strengths and is cognizant of its weaknesses.

That means early fall isn’t about figuring things out. It’s about winning.

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“It helps us as coaches be able to navigate, ‘What does this team need?’” Campbell said. “Last year we needed everything, so you take it slow and you take it right and you get good incrementally at the right things.

“Where now I think you can be a little more aggressive with this group and really try to hone in on, what’s it going to take for this team to be its best on those 12 Saturdays?”

Which the Cyclones hope will produce what, exactly?

“I don’t think there’s any hope ,” Noel said. “We have the confidence we’re going to be good from Day 1 because we put the preparation in.

“I think we’ll be great.”

There’s no need to translate that. He’s speaking Coach Prime’s language.

Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000 . F ollow him on X at @TravisHines21.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Hines: Campbell exuding quiet confidence about Iowa State football in 2024